This is for 96 Hours� Streetdate feature which focuses on a small area of a major street to hang out, eat, shop. This week: Grand Avenue, Oakland. We will run 3-5 photos, mixing wide shots of the area and details. We need shots of the spots mentioned below, a photo of the street sign that can be cut out and shots that give a feel of the area with people in them. Can be scheduled at your convenience.
Here is the story intro:
Two elderly men stroll past a large, three-story stucco building housing storefront businesses on Grand Avenue in Oakland. A busy street where the rumble of traffic can be heard from the nearby 580 freeway, it still manages to possess a neighborhood feel, thanks to the surrounding houses and apartment buildings. It�s a place where people savor a cup of coffee at an unpretentious cafe, nose around a bookstore, run errands, get their nails done or stop in for a cocktail or dinner.
Please shoot these places:
Walden Pond Books, 3316 Grand Avenue, (510) 832-4438
Di Bartolo, 3308 Grand Avenue, (510) 451-0576
Ford�s Fine Furniture, 3258 Grand Avenue, (510) 444-4008
Grand Lake Theater, especially interior, 3200 Grand Avenue, (510) 452-3556 less

This is for 96 Hours� Streetdate feature which focuses on a small area of a major street to hang out, eat, shop. This week: Grand Avenue, Oakland. We will run 3-5 photos, mixing wide shots of the area and ... more

Svendsgaard, 53, grew up in North Oakland and moved to Fruitvale 13 years ago. In that time, she's noticed many harbingers of gentrification – fancy grocery stores, hipster coffee shops, and changing culture.

For those newly settled in the Town, this is the only Oakland they've known. Those who were born and raised in Oakland likely remember a different city.

One thing that hasn't changed? "Oakland has always been cool," says Svendsgaard.

Now Playing:

If these things sound familiar to you, then you might be from Oakland.

Media: Ted Andersen, SFGATE

SFGATE spoke to native Oaklanders to compile a list of things you'd only know if you grew up lounging on the shores of Lake Merritt and climbing inside the whale's mouth at Fairyland. Some of the locations listed have closed (Flints BBQ, Giants Burger) but many remain open and thriving.

Click through the above gallery to test your Oakland knowledge. Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments.